"Good morning!"

The daycare workers were perpetually cheerful, it seemed. Jax supposed they had to be an upbeat, optimistic lot, to take on the care of the children of Tripler's medical professionals. On-time pick up? Maybe, maybe not. Early drop-off? Frequently, if one's particular department was short-staffed.

"Good morning," Jax replied. "Are you ready for these two?"

"Always," the young woman said, smiling. "How is Annie's diaper rash?"

"It's so much better," Jax said. "That A&D really did the trick; thanks for the suggestion."

"Yeah, no problem! Is there a tube in her diaper bag?"

"It's . . . well, it's in one of the diaper bags," Jax said, absently patting at the pockets. She realized she was carrying the camo bag, which Kono had purchased with Steve in mind. Kono had selected tactical black for her.

"No worries, we have plenty here. Bottles at their usual times?"

"Yes, thank you." Jax pushed the double stroller into the colorful nursery and then knelt in front. "Be good for Miss Sandra, got it?" She kissed Annie and Billy on their soft cheeks. "I'll be back for them at the end of my shift."

"Or whenever Gus releases you from custody," Sandra laughed.

Jax grinned and headed toward the Emergency Department. She had mastered the art of managing the twins, their carseats, and the stroller. It made mornings less complicated, but sometimes she missed the days of tag-teaming the mission, all four of them piled into the Silverado, heading out to start their days together.

But managing solo meant that Danny was back to picking Steve up for work, which meant hearing her two favorite guys grousing at each other in the kitchen while she poured them coffee.

"Good morning, sunshine." Gus mumbled around the pen in her mouth, both hands full of gauze pads. "Help me out in Trauma 2, will you? We've got a sailor vs fan blade accident."

"Ouch," Jax said, following on Gus's heels.

"Petty Officer Bentz, I found an extra set of hands, so we can get those sutures done twice as fast," Gus said.

The young man looked up morosely at Jax. His arms were propped on a surgical tray placed over the bed, wrapped in blood-soaked pressure dressings.

"Fan blade one, petty officer zero?" Jax said.

"I don't know what happened," Bentz said. "One minute I was wrestling with a stuck bolt, and the next the damn thing started up."

"Lacerations are on the outside of the forearms," Gus observed. "Did you pull your arms up in front of your face?"

"Yeah, for a minute there I thought the thing was going to take my head off."

"You're lucky it didn't, and lucky you didn't sever a brachial artery," Jax said. "Or two. This, we can fix, though you're probably going to end up behind a desk or doing inventory for a while."

"Great," he groaned.

Jax and Gus chuckled as they settled in, one on each side of the patient, and started the meticulous work of administering anesthetic and placing sutures.

#*#*#*#*

Not that anyone would know it from Danny's rants, but Steve was good at paperwork. Just because he preferred to be in the field, in the action, didn't mean that he didn't appreciate an administrative job well done. He was working on the monthly budget report when his phone rang.

Saved by the bell! his brain supplied. Okay, so he strongly preferred to be in the field.

"McGarrett", he said, answering. "Caviness! Good to hear from you. It's been a while." He listened intently, nodding. "Of course. Send all of the information over."

His purposeful stride toward the smart table caught the attention of the rest of the team, and they quickly gathered.

"What's up, boss?" Kono asked.

"WITSEC needs backup," Steve explained. "They suspect a leak in their Virginia office. They're sending a witness here, and they're going to expect standard protocol. What they won't expect is Five-0 undercover protecting the witness and trying to trace any unexplained attempts at contact back to the agent responsible for the leak."

"They're using the witness as bait?" Grover asked.

"Caviness says they've already tried putting in an agent undercover as a witness. Whoever this person is, they're close enough that they caught on to it. It was a bust. The director knows that Five-0 has worked with WITSEC before and gave Caviness the go-ahead to team up with us. The witness will have double the protection and there will be double the resources available to track any possible leads."

"I'm guessing we'll all need to grab our overnight bags for this one," Chin said.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, we'll be on a pretty tight 8 hour rotation between here, our own homes, the safe house, and the decoy house for . . . well. Let's just say it could be a long week. So, everyone head home, make sure your families are all set, and get some rest."

#*#*#*#*#

Jax was surprised to see Steve come out the front door and towards the truck when she pulled into the driveway.

"Everything okay?" she asked, hefting the diaper bag onto her shoulder.

Steve opened the back door closest to him.

"Yeah, everything is okay," he said. He unbuckled Annie from her car seat as Jax did the same with Billy. "We've got a security situation we're coordinating with Caviness, starting tomorrow."

"Ah. So you'll be pulling sixteen hour days."

"Afraid so. I'm sorry, ku'uipo."

Jax caught up to him as she came around the truck. He grabbed the diaper bag from her shoulder and slung it easily across his.

"Steve, you know I understand. We'll be fine, won't we punkin?" she asked, bopping Billy lightly on the nose.

The evening passed quietly, as they moved through their comfortable, familiar routine of dinner, bottles, and baths.

"Wow," Steve said, his eyes watering as he changed Billy's diaper for the last time before bed. "We were warned, right, about what happened when they started on solids?"

"If you consider pureed sweet potatoes solid," Jax said. "Here, more wipes."

After getting the twins settled, they headed upstairs, Pupule bounding up behind them, hoping to find – and keep – a place on the bed. He curled up in Jax's lap, sprawled belly up, and she absently rubbed at him while Steve was packing up a duffle bag.

"I hope not to be gone more than a couple of nights this week," he said, "but I really don't know how long this will take."

"I'll be just fine," Jax assured him. "If I need a second set of hands, I'll call Mary for help." She rubbed at her wrist, then her neck.

Steve frowned. "You get hurt today?"

"Mm, no. Just a very long suture session."

He zipped closed his duffle and tossed it next to the bedroom door. He returned to stand behind Jax, his hands warm and gentle on her neck. His thumbs pressed firmly on the tense muscles, and she sighed in relief.

"How many stitches?"

"I placed twenty-six," Jax said. "I imagine Gus did about the same."

"Shit," Steve said, wincing. He took Jax's arm gently in hand, knowing all too well that even long-healed breaks tended to ache when over-used.

"Sailor vs fan blade," she explained. "It could have been worse, but still – it was a terrible injury. And then, of course, he needed a tetanus booster, antibiotics . . ."

"Ships are dangerous," Steve murmured, his big hands gently massaging the tension from her strained muscles.

"Whatever your new case is, it sounds dangerous, too." She turned to face him, reaching up to cup his face in her hands. "Be careful."

He closed the distance between them, gathering her in his arms and kissing her, soft and slow. "Aye, aye, ma'am. I have three of the best reasons in the world to watch my six and come home safe."

Pupule huffed in disgust and stalked out to his bed on the landing.

#*#*#*#*#

"Plane is landing on schedule," Steve murmured into his hidden mic. "Everyone in position?"

A chorus of affirmative replies came in softly over their tac radios. The witness would be met at the gate by one of Caviness' team, Marshal Alesha Shelton, who they'd worked with before. The US Marshal service maintained such a low profile that they wouldn't draw any attention to the situation. Kono was sitting in the airport coffee shop; Danny browsing the newsstand at the terminal mid-way to the exit.

"Fall in behind the witness as she passes you," Steve reminded them. "Flank her between the exit doors and the vehicles."

Steve watched as Kono and the witness slipped into the back of the SUV. The windows were tinted just enough that it wasn't possible to make out the faces of Grover and Chin in the front. Alesha and Danny climbed into the Camaro. With any luck, if they picked up a tail outside the airport, it wouldn't be obvious which of the women was the witness.

"We have Ms. Volkov" Chin's voice announced over their tac frequency.

"Okay, give about three cars' distance between us," Steve said. "See you there."

'There' was a never-before-used safehouse set up by Five-0. It was outside city limits, but tucked in enough other houses that various cars coming and going wouldn't seem out of place.

"How's Ms. Volkov?" Danny asked, looking back at the agent in the rear view mirror.

"Scared," she answered. "Determined. Russian organized crime has a widespread and insidious reach. She knows nothing of our concerns of a mole on our end. As far as she knows, Five-0's involvement is standard protocol."

"Good," Steve said. "No sense giving her more things to worry about."

"Now we just keep her protected here until the trial," the agent said, "and see if our mole takes the decoy house as bait."

#*#*#*#*#

"Good morning, Jax," Dr. Marks said, juggling a stack of files and a coffee. "I've been meaning to ask – how is the shift rotation working for you, with the twins?"

"Day shift, evening shift, day off," Jax said, "so far it's working great. We appreciate the flexibility."

"Good, good," he said. "But listen, if you need to make adjustments, please don't hesitate to let us know."

"I will," Jax assured him, looping her stethoscope around her neck. Gus joined them at the nurse's station, the central hub of all of the emergency department's activity.

"How are the little petri dishes?" she grumbled, fooling no one.

"Healthy as can be," Jax said, "up to date on all their vaccinations and not so much as a runny nose so far."

"Enjoy it while it – "

She was interrupted by a nurse, phone to her ear. "Incoming. Accident at Hickam; sounds like severe lacerations. They're reporting pulse is becoming thready."

"Losing too much blood," Gus said. "Trauma 1." She and Jax opened the doors of the trauma bay and began pulling equipment.

Jax stacked several suture trays on top of each other. "So many accidents."

"If it was safe and easy, they'd use civilians," Gus said.

The double doors flew open in a flurry of medic uniforms and tersely stated vitals. Dr. Marks barely waited for the medic's gurney wheels to stop before he was supervising the transfer of the young ensign to the trauma gurney. He lifted the largest, bloodiest bandage and swore under his breath.

"Did anyone retrieve the fingers?" he asked, looking to the medics.

"They're still looking," one of them said, shaking his head, "but I wouldn't hold out much hope."

"Okay. If they find them, you get them here, lights and sirens, understand?" He directed his attention to Gus and Jax. "Vitals?"

"BP dropping fast," Jax said.

"Pulse ox dipping into the eighties," Gus added.

"Let's get her stable and ready for the OR," Dr. Marks said. "Damn it, our people should be safer stateside than in a fucking combat zone. This is the second one this week."

#*#*#*#*#*#

"Jax?" Steve called out as he came in the door, locking it and resetting the alarm. He secured his gun and badge.

"In here." Her voice came from the hallway bathroom. She looked up as he stood in the doorway. "Didn't expect our paths to cross this week."

He smiled down at her, and at the sight of the twins in the tub. They were both sporting bubble mohawks. It made him think of how far Jax had come since he'd met her – solemn, haunted. There was a lightness about her now that warmed his heart.

"I've got about six hours. Need a hand?"

"Always," she laughed. "Wet babies are squirmy."

He grabbed a towel and held it out as she quickly rinsed the suds off Annie and handed her up. He held her against his chest and wrapped the towel around her as she grabbed at his nose, his ears, his hair. Jax repeated the procedure, lifting Billy out and starting to dry him off.

They made quick work of diapers and pajamas, and tucked the babies safely into their crib.

"I made it home just in time," Steve whispered as he turned off the light and closed the door quietly behind him. "I was hoping I'd get to tuck them in."

Jax nodded, then yawned hugely. "Sorry. Long day."

"Then let's tuck you in," Steve murmured, kissing her forehead.

They went through their own brief bedtime routine, and soon Jax was curled against Steve, her head on his shoulder.

"Steve?" she mumbled, sleep already pulling at her.

"Hmm?"

"How many times does something happen before you consider it a problem? Like, a pattern?"

"Depends," he said, his fingers absently caressing her shoulder. "What are we talking about?"

"Fan blades. Two nasty injuries from Pearl-Hickam this week already. I've never treated an injury from a fan blade before, and then two in one week. Ensign lost two fingers."

"Shit, I'm sorry to hear that. Want me to call and see if NCIS has anything on their radar?"

"You're in the middle of a case," she reminded him.

"I can make a phone call. I'll call in the morning, while I'm at the office, okay?"

"'Kay," she murmured, and then her breathing slowed as she drifted to sleep.

He stayed awake for a few minutes, soaking in the knowledge of his family, safe and whole, sleeping peacefully. It was something he never took for granted, something he took time to savor, quietly.

#*#*#*#*#

When Jax woke, Steve's side of the bed was already cold. She had a flare of panic before her brain came fully online, reminding her that he had to head into the office early, then rotate with the rest of the team to watch over the WITSEC witness.

Today was the every-third-day that she didn't go in to Tripler. She made the bed quickly, then went to the kitchen, flipping on the coffee maker and prepping two bottles.

"I have to vacuum today, don't say I didn't warn you," she told Pupule, putting his morning kibble into his bowl. "And who knows? Today might be the day Annie or Billy takes a step. It could happen any time now. Then you better watch out, buster."

Her cell phone chimed quietly, altering her to a call from Steve.

"Hey," she said. "You were gone. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Are you kidding? It's your day off, and you were sleeping so well."

"Yeah," she agreed. A peaceful night's sleep was now the rule, not the exception, but both of them struggled enough still that waking each other from a restful, nightmare-free sleep wasn't something either of them did deliberately. "Everything okay?"

"Fine; just letting you know I did put a call in to NCIS on the fan blade accidents you've seen. Nothing connected for them. They've not had any complaints or tips related to the incidents."

"Okay. Thanks for asking." She sighed.

"You good?"

She could picture him, turning his back to the windows of his office, the little furrow of concern between his brows.

"Of course," she said quickly. "Just nagging at me, I guess. Those injuries."

"You know," Steve said, then hesitated.

"What?"

"Your, ah, your dad would have had a lot of experience with equipment, maintenance, that sort of thing. I mean, as Master Chief he would have known about every single incident that could affect fire control, which would include pretty much any incident of equipment failure or related injury on board his ship."

Jax thought about that for a long moment. "I'll keep that in mind," she said, finally. Pupule stalked to the door of the nursery and meowed loudly. "Hey, his highness has alerted me to movement in the twins' room; I better run."

"Give them a kiss for me," Steve said. "I'll check in with you when I can."

#*#*#*#*#

Steve was glad it was his and Danny's turn to stake out the decoy safehouse. The case seemed to be dragging already, and he wasn't in a mood to be chatty with Marshal Shelton and the witness.

"Everything okay?" Danny asked, tilting his head and studying Steve.

Steve shrugged. "I hate it when we have to work on catching someone who's supposed to be on our side, you know?"

"Happens more than we'd like to think," Danny agreed. "Something else on your mind?"

"Jax has had two very similar injuries come through Tripler emergency this week. Both involved fan blades. She says she's never seen one injury like that before, much less two. I called NCIS and it's not on their radar."

Danny nodded. "She has good instincts. Maybe we should look into it, even if NCIS isn't clocking it."

"Yeah, I'm thinking once this witness is secure – especially if there are any additional similar injuries. Wait – look, we've got movement, coming in from the back of the property. Let's go."

#*#*#*#*#

Steve winced as Jax placed a butterfly bandage over the small but deep cut over his eyebrow.

"Why do they always run?" she asked, kissing him gently on the temple.

He grinned at her. "Because they think they have a chance."

"Not with you and Danny chasing them. So, you're certain you've located the mole in the WITSEC office?"

"Absolutely. Only one agent was given that decoy location."

"But the team they sent after the witness was already here on the island?" Jax shook her head. "So we've got Russian mob activity in Oahu."

"Looks like," he answered. "Danny is reaching out to some old contacts."

She grinned. "Yeah, I remember him working that case in Jersey. I bet he still can't stand the idea of vodka. This one night, he was so sick, poor thing, Grace and I had to take turns fixing him ginger ale and crackers."

"So that's where the aversion to vodka came from," Steve laughed. "And here I thought it was from his glory days as a frat boy."

"Whole-hearted commitment," she said. "That's what made him so good undercover. He didn't hesitate. The whole 'get drunk with the boss' was a set-up, a test. He passed with flying colors; drank the guy under the table and got in."

"Well, he might have to dust off that Russian and learn to like vodka again. We need to get to the bottom of why there's a new faction of organized crime on the island."